Oakland Athletics vs. Los Angeles Dodgers
The Oakland Athletics have been the worst team in baseball, supporting a record of 30-79, sitting a whopping 32.5 games out of first place in the AL West.
Simply put, this is not a good time to be a fan of the A's.
The fans that do show up to games have greeted the teams with plenty of boos and fire Fisher chants referencing Athletics owner John Fisher, as Fisher will be moving the A's to Las Vegas in the year 2025. Oakland has struggled with attendance over the last few years, and Fisher feels as if the support will be stronger in Vegas.
Oakland may be in the worst position in all of sports. The reason for that (outside of the upcoming relocation) is their major league roster is bad, and their minor league system needs to be better.
Not long ago, the Athletics fielded multiple competitive teams led by Matt Chapman and Matt Olson. Oakland decided to move on from the stars and blow up a team that made the playoffs three straight seasons in 2018, 2019, and 2020.
As you can imagine, Oakland ranks dead last in baseball in runs per game (3.69). The bats have been ice cold as of late, as they are averaging a whopping 1.33 runs per game over their last three.
Esteury Ruiz has been the most productive bat for the As from an average standpoint (.257) while being one of the best base-stealers in baseball, with 43 this season.
Brent Rooker was the lone all-star from this A's roster. Rooker has hit 18 home runs this year, driving in 48 runs.
The pitching has been similar to the hitting for Oakland. The Athletics rank dead last in baseball in team ERA (5.87).
JP Sears has been the best starter in the rotation. The 27-year-old Southpaw is 2-7 on the year with an ERA of 4.09 and will get the start tonight.
The Dodgers are, once again, one of the best teams in baseball, and this has been the case since 2015 (806-495 record). They've won one world series in that span and made the postseason in 10 consecutive seasons.
Los Angeles will begin play sitting at the top of the NL West, a division that they have dominated over the last decade, holding a lead of 2.5 games over the San Francisco Giants.
The Dodgers rank third in baseball in runs per game (5.61), as they've been led by a trio of star bats:
- Mookie Betts is one of the stars on this Los Angles roster and earned himself yet another All-Star appearance this year on top of participating in the Home Run Derby. Betts is batting .282 on the year with 29 home runs, and 70 RBIs.
- Freddie Freeman will begin play ranked second in the NL in batting average (.338). Freeman earned himself yet another trip to the all-star game this year for a good reason, posting 21 home runs and 75 RBIs on the season.
- JD Martinez was the surprise All-Star for the Dodgers. Martinez has had a terrific career, but at age 35 he has exceeded expectations. Martinez is batting .260 with 25 home runs and 75 RBIs.
The pitching has been solid for the Dodgers this year, which is impressive for all of the injuries that they have had to deal with.
Walker Buehler has missed this entire season, while Dustin May was shut down with Tommy John surgery. Clayton Kershaw has been on the IL as he has not made a start since June 27th.
The Dodgers will send Southpaw Julio Urias to the mound tonight.
Urias had the best year of his career in 2022, with an ERA of 2.16, but has struggled this year, sporting an ERA of 4.98.
Pick: Athletics vs. Dodgers F5 u5 (-125, DraftKings)
Urias has had a tough go of things in 2023, but let's break down his splits, as he's been a completely different pitcher at home compared to the road.
Urias has an ERA of 2.47 and a record of 5-1 at home compared to an ERA of 7.88 and a record of 2-5 on the road.
Sears, meanwhile, has better numbers when he has pitched on the road, holding an ERA of 3.84 away from home compared to 4.41 at home.
As of late, Sears has been throwing the ball very well, pitching to an ERA of just 3.07 in July.
Oakland has been one of the worst first-five offenses in all of baseball this year, ranking 27th (2.18 runs), and has been ice-cold in first-five situations as of late, averaging just 0.33 runs in the first five innings of games over their last three games.
You can tail the under on DraftKings Sportsbook, where you can also get up to $1,000 in DK Dollars when you sign up for a new account. Simply sign up below and start betting TODAY!
